Tuesday, May 13, 2014

"The First Volley"

By Christina Moore_____

The
pace as they walked toward the nearest lift was brisk, though Synnove Natale
mused that a fast march was a better description of what Eton Kirek was doing.
She made no comment, however, having no intention of giving him the impression
that she couldn’t keep up.

At
the lift, Kirek turned so abruptly that Natale almost ran into him. “It just
occurred to me to ask—are the lifts even working?”

He
then noted the presence of Jordan Kelley at her side—Zram had stayed behind
with the engineers without even being asked, most likely so that he could keep
an eye on the Cardassians. Natale made a mental note to have an appointment for
the Bolian scheduled with their counselor as soon as they had one, as Kirek
looked Commander Kelley up and down.

“Your
bodyguard, Captain? Surely you do not fear to be alone in my presence?” Kirek
asked with a sneer.

Kelley
stood straighter, and Natale noted a scowl had come to his features. To counter
the Human’s expression, she smiled pleasantly. “Of course not, Mr. Kirek. But
Lt. Commander Kelley is our defense
officer, and he is eager to get the station’s weapons systems online.”

“What
better place for me to start than where the fire button is?” Kelley pointed
out.

“And
yes, Commander, the lifts are working,” Natale added. “The station’s lights are
on as well, as you surely have noted. Auxiliary power systems were already
running when we arrived, and no doubt have been since last there was anyone
here, though we soon discovered that only
the doors, lifts, lights and life support were operational. All systems will be checked for
operational readiness before we go to full power.”

“You
Starfleet types,” the Cardassian said with a snort. “So efficient.”

Natale
merely nodded and stepped in after him when he moved into the lift, Kelley
following to stand beside her.

*****

When
they reached the Operations center, Kelley went immediately to the “pool table”
in the center of the room, upon which the tactical controls were located.
Natale watched for a moment as he attempted to bring one and then another of
the consoles to life, each effort resulting in failure. Kirek snorted from his
place behind Natale, and though she saw a muscle in Jordan’s jaw twitch, he
said nothing.

The
Human man then went down into the recess below the viewscreen and pulled off a
piece of paneling, examined the circuits inside, then tapped his commbadge.

“Kelley
to Grafydd.”

“Grafydd here, Commander.”

“Looks
like I’m going to need some help up here. Think you can spare a pair of hands?”

Grafydd
evidently took the commander’s unintentional pun as a joke, for he replied, “I’m afraid both pairs of my hands are quite
attached to me, but I can send a whole person to help you out.”

Kelley
grinned. “Better than just sending a pair of hands, yours or someone else’s,
Commander. I appreciate you sending someone, as I know you guys are busy.
Kelley out.”

“As
amusing as this little display is, you and I need to talk.”

Natale
was hard-pressed not to jump when she felt Kirek’s breath on her neck, his
words spoken quite close to her ear. She nodded and led the way around the
upper level to the office. The door opened sluggishly, and stayed open when
they stepped inside. The captain noted she would have to have the controls
examined whenever one of the engineers had the time.

Stepping
behind the desk, which was apparently the original left behind by the last
prefect of the station, Natale sat down in the chair. It was uncomfortable,
having most likely been designed for a Cardassian wearing armor and not someone
in a simple cloth uniform, but she decided to deal, and plastered a benign
smile on her face as she looked up at Kirek.

“What,
in particular, would you like to discuss, Mr. Kirek?” she asked.

Kirek
leaned forward, placing his hands on the edge of the desk. “Let’s get one thing
straight, Starfleet. This is a Cardassian
space station—”

“Which
was abandoned by the aforementioned Cardassians,” Natale pointed out.

“Be
that as it may, it belongs to us, and
I can assure you that Starfleet will not be here long.”

“If
you’re afraid that the Federation’s involvement in turning this station into a
functioning starbase is going to sully the reputation of the Cardassian people,
I’d say you’re a few decades late for that. At the very least, you’re two years
late for it.”

The
dal’s expression darkened. “Is this your idea of willingness to work together?”
he bit sharply. “You hurl insults at me?!”

Natale
took a breath, telling herself to remain calm. “I didn’t hurl an insult,
Commander, I told you the truth, though since you took it as such, allow me to
offer my apologies. However, if you want to discuss insults, might I point out
that you are the one who has been snide and abrupt from the moment we first met
on the comm channel, and you are the one who referred to several members of the
Starfleet crew as children?”

“They
are children!” Kirek thundered. “Most of them looked barely old enough to hold
a phaser!”

“Be
that as it may,” she said, unable to resist throwing his own words back at him,
“they are members of this station’s crew, and if you wish to retain your
position here as executive officer, you will treat them with the respect they
are due.”

“Do
you think to replace me already?” Kirek asked.

Natale
shook her head. “No. Your government selected you for the assignment and I must
accept their decision. However, if this attitude of yours continues—if you
insist on being disrespectful and insulting to the Starfleet contingent—you
will leave me no choice but to request a replacement. I don’t believe your people
will look too favorably on you should I be forced to resort to doing so.”

The
perpetual sneer remained fixed in place as Kirek straightened. “If I may be so
bold as to speak my mind, I don’t think I like you, Captain,” he said.

Her
gaze remained steady as she looked up at him. “Noted, Commander. Now why don’t
you take a seat, and we can discuss the combination and disbursement of our
staff?”

*****

A
few minutes after Natale and Kirek had gone into the office, a young,
nervous-looking ensign appeared on the lift. Kelley waved her over.

“What’s
your name, Ensign?” he asked cordially as he looked up.

“Um,
Ensign Felicity Bowman, sir,” she replied, her accent telling him she was from
England.

Kelley
raised an eyebrow. “Felicity, huh? I wonder why that name sounds so familiar to
me.”

“I…I
wouldn’t know, sir,” Bowman replied. “I’m actually on temporary assignment to
Commander Grafydd’s staff from the Triumph.
Captain Wallace sent a few of us over before they departed on the security tour
to help out.”

Kelley
smiled, hoping it would help the young lady relax. Goodness, he mused silently. I
think I’m old enough to be her father.

Aloud,
he said, “Believe me, Ensign, we certainly appreciate the help. From the looks
of things, this place needs a lot of work.”

Bowman
looked around. The lights were on, though they were dim, but none of the
consoles were lit. Looking back at Kelley, she hefted the tool kit she had
brought with her. “What would you like me to help you with, sir?”

He
motioned her down into the pit and waved his hand at the circuit board. “This,”
he said simply.

Bowman
sat the tool kit down on a step and peered closer at the mess of wires and
fuses. It was a good thing she had studied a schematic of the Nor-class
station, or even she wouldn’t know what she was looking at.

“You’re
wanting to get the weapons systems online, sir?” she asked.

“Yeah,”
he replied. “I can’t even run a diagnostic of the operating program, let alone
the entire system.”

Just
then they heard a shout from the office, and Bowman jumped, gasping.

“Don’t
worry, it’s just the first volley,” Kelley said. “Given what I’ve seen of those
two, I’d say the battle is far from over.”

“Are…are
you sure that you should be saying something like that, sir? E-especially to
me?”

He
laughed, amused by the stuttered lecture on propriety from an ensign who should
still be studying at the academy.

“I
suppose you’re right, Ensign. Forgive me,” the commander replied. He then
patted her on the shoulder and gestured toward the open panel. “Why don’t we
get to work?”